Deuterated polymers are well-recognized for their use in the elucidation of structure-property relationships in a variety of materials, such as in amphiphilic polymers or in proteins (e.g., in proteomic analysis). Deuterated polymers have also found use in elucidating surface adsorption mechanisms and properties of their non-deuterated counterparts. Neutron scattering techniques, such as small angle neutron scattering (SANS), are among the more common techniques used for studying deuterated polymers.
Polyvinylpyridines, in particular, are used in a variety of applications, including as conductive polymers (e.g., as produced from polyvinylpyridine and iodine) used as battery cathode materials, photographic materials, textiles, dispersing agents, and ion exchange materials. Therefore, to further elucidate the properties and interactive behavior of the polyvinylpyridines on a molecular level, deuterated forms of polyvinylpyridines and methods of producing them continue to be sought.
A possible route for making a deuterated polyvinylpyridine is by polymerizing a deuterated vinylpyridine (monomer). However, a significant drawback in current methods for producing deuterated vinylpyridines is their inability to provide specific levels of deuteration and selected deuteration patterns, particularly on the pyridine ring. In particular, current methods are generally incapable of providing partial deuteration of the pyridine ring. Yet, partial deuteration of the pyridine ring would be particularly advantageous for optimizing the scattering length density (SLD) in devising certain neutron scattering experiments where partially deuterated polymers are used to match the background, or to decouple the intra- and inter-structural and dynamic information.